{"title":"Effective hybrid branch-and-cut algorithm for the inventory routing problem with open vehicle routing constraints","authors":"Nai-Kang Yu , Bin Qian , Rong Hu , Jian-Bo Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.eswa.2025.129905","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study considers a kind of inventory routing problem, which jointly optimizes the open vehicle routing decision and the inventory replenishment in a real-world distribution scenario. That is, the considered problem is an integrated optimization problem with two coupled subproblems (IOP_TCSP), i.e., the open vehicle routing problem (OVRP) and the inventory replenishment problem. The criterion is to minimize the total logistics and inventory costs under multiple periods. The IOP_TCSP is modelled as a mixed integer programming problem, and then a hybrid branch-and-cut algorithm combining novel Lagrangian heuristic approach and valid inequalities (HB&C_NLHAVI) is devised to deal with it. Test results on 72 instances with different scales demonstrate that the devised HB&C is more effective than the commercial solver Gurobi. Specifically, the HB&C can obviously reduce optimality gaps for many instances within the similar or less running time, and it can reduce the optimality gaps by 12–24% within only 60–70% of Gurobi’s running time for almost all large-scale instances.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50461,"journal":{"name":"Expert Systems with Applications","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 129905"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Expert Systems with Applications","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957417425035201","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"COMPUTER SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study considers a kind of inventory routing problem, which jointly optimizes the open vehicle routing decision and the inventory replenishment in a real-world distribution scenario. That is, the considered problem is an integrated optimization problem with two coupled subproblems (IOP_TCSP), i.e., the open vehicle routing problem (OVRP) and the inventory replenishment problem. The criterion is to minimize the total logistics and inventory costs under multiple periods. The IOP_TCSP is modelled as a mixed integer programming problem, and then a hybrid branch-and-cut algorithm combining novel Lagrangian heuristic approach and valid inequalities (HB&C_NLHAVI) is devised to deal with it. Test results on 72 instances with different scales demonstrate that the devised HB&C is more effective than the commercial solver Gurobi. Specifically, the HB&C can obviously reduce optimality gaps for many instances within the similar or less running time, and it can reduce the optimality gaps by 12–24% within only 60–70% of Gurobi’s running time for almost all large-scale instances.
期刊介绍:
Expert Systems With Applications is an international journal dedicated to the exchange of information on expert and intelligent systems used globally in industry, government, and universities. The journal emphasizes original papers covering the design, development, testing, implementation, and management of these systems, offering practical guidelines. It spans various sectors such as finance, engineering, marketing, law, project management, information management, medicine, and more. The journal also welcomes papers on multi-agent systems, knowledge management, neural networks, knowledge discovery, data mining, and other related areas, excluding applications to military/defense systems.